The Journey: Here to There
I took a solo road trip to Colorado last week and one of the poignant contemplations I had was about the journey. I was driving through what I consider to be ‘less than’ beautiful part of Northern New Mexico and found myself wishing I were already ‘there.’ I laughed as I knew the Universe wanted me to understand that ultimately the road I was on was a road that connected to another road that would lead me ‘there.’ The part of the road I was on was a necessary part of the journey to get where I wanted to go.
Here to There
The truth is, if we bypass ‘here,’ we'll get ‘there’ feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied. I realized the perfection of this as it represents a common feeling I've felt most of my life; always wanting to be ‘there’ instead of ‘here.’ I tended to focus on the destination, rather than embracing the beauty of the journey. I've often contemplated the word ‘here’ – I realized it is not possible to spell ‘there’ without ‘here.’ Similarly you cannot get ‘there’ (wherever there is for you) without being ‘here.’ How do we accept and trust that where we are is perfect for us. If it were not we wouldn't be here. What lessons are here for you to learn? I believe in the divine intelligence of the universe. Therefore, I trust that there is a lesson for me to learn here that will lead and support me in getting ‘there.’ The point is the journey, not the destination. The journey from Here to There is one of evolution. In essence, it is the journey of becoming who you are meant to me. Trust the journey. Commit to the journey. The journey is a process, an evolution. One that invites you to evolve.
Presence
Sometimes it feels like we are so far away from where we want to be. When we are on the path we can't always see where it will lead, our mind wants certainty and a guarantee. What if we knew that where we are leads to where we most desire to be. And because it does, doesn't it matter who we are being today and how we are feeling about our lives? Being informs the doing. Who you are being influences your experience of both here and there. Who you are being compounds. The more you appreciate your experience of here, the more you'll appreciate your experience of ‘there’ when it arrives. And when we do get ‘there,’ ‘there’ becomes ‘here’ and we then focus on another ‘there.' In wishing we were ‘there’ we disconnected from our presence. The future (there) is created in the now (here) moment. Your experience of here will determine your experience of there. Be fully present ‘here’ knowing that ‘there’ is inevitable.
Comparison
For so much of my life I have felt the pressure of time. The pressure of not getting ‘there’ fast enough. I've fallen into the trap of comparison: comparing my Chapter 1 to another's Chapter 44. When comparing, we often compare our perceived flaws and weaknesses to another's strengths, which creates an unrealistic expectation and can lead us into a shame spiral. By resisting where we are, comparing our journey to another's, or wishing we were elsewhere we congeal time and extend the gap between where we are and where we want to be. The sooner you learn the lessons and glean the wisdom, the sooner you'll get there. It is in the embracing of and learning to love where we are that we collapse time and close the gap between ‘here’ and ‘there.’ It sounds counterintuitive, but I promise it is true. It's in the resisting of where you are that you are unable to learn the lessons and extract the wisdom. Resistance creates frustration and impatience which create incoherence in the quantum field, leading to more incoherence in your own experience.
Beyond the Predictable
It is a common theme in the human condition to define our future based on our present reality. In doing so we remain in the predictable, limiting the possibility and potentiality that exists beyond. Where we are does not tell us anything about where we are going, it is merely one part of the journey. When we encounter these ‘less than’ beautiful parts of the journey it can be tempting to want to turn around and give up, yet it is the going through these parts that cultivates wisdom, strength, and perspective. Your journey is unprecedented. It is unique to you. No one has walked the path before. Now it is time to venture forward, to continue to create your unique path. Allow yourself to simply be and find the pleasure in the path you're on.
